112 pages • 3 hours read
Karen RussellA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
“Ava Wrestles the Alligator”
“Haunting Olivia”
“Z. Z.’s Sleep-Away Camp for Disordered Dreamers”
“The Star-Gazer’s Log of Summer-Time Crime”
“from Children’s Reminiscences of the Westward Migration”
“Lady Yeti and the Palace of Artificial Snows”
“The City of Shells”
“Out to Sea”
“Accident Brief, Occurrence # 00/422”
“St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
All but one of these stories comes from the perspective of a child. How would the stories change if the parents told the stories instead? Choose two stories to explore this shift in perspective.
Since most of the narrators are children, how reliable do you think they are as narrators? Provide examples from several stories that hint at an unreliable narrator. Does the idea of an unreliable narrator change how you read these stories?
Sawtooth’s story “Out to Sea” is the only one that features an adult as the protagonist. Nevertheless, what does Sawtooth have in common with the other protagonists? What connection do you think the author is drawing between childhood and being elderly?
By Karen Russell